The present disclosure relates to the field of simulation systems and geographic information systems and, more particularly, to spatially referenced multi-sensory data digitally encoded in a voxel database.
Complexity of simulated environments has grown exponentially in correspondence with the growth of simulation technologies. Simulated environments include computer based simulators, immersion simulators, and device assisted real-world simulations (Tactical Engagement Simulation (TES) systems, for example). Many of these simulators are designed to model real world scenarios, which require geospatial correspondence between a real world space and a simulation space. For instance, to successfully implement military personnel trainers, Intel analysis systems, mission rehearsal systems, and unmanned military systems, a simulation space must accurately reflect a geographic region being modeled.
Acquiring, and implementing geospatially correct information for simulated environments becomes increasingly difficult as output modes involved in a simulation increase. For example, many flight combat simulation environments not only provide a human with images seen out of a simulated cockpit view screen, but present data on simulated radar screens, thermal imaging screens, and other simulation equipped instrumentation. Output presented on each of these mechanisms change based upon user-controlled decisions. All of these output mechanisms provide divergent data, which must be synchronized with one another, often in real-time. Synchronization problems among the different output modalities of a simulation environment are highly distracting to a user, which significantly detracts from the user experience provided by a simulation. This problem escalates as additional output modalities (e.g., olfactory output, tactile output, thermal output, and audio output) are included in a simulation environment.
In traditional simulation implementations, terrain for a simulated environment is generated using vector based rendering and modeling tools. These vector based tools use a series of points in space to define polygons, which are manipulated via linear algebra transforms to ultimately create visual output. As polygons used in vector based rendering become smaller, an increasingly large number of points need to be defined and manipulated per unit of three dimensional (3D) space. Vector based graphical tools have traditionally not required point-to-point mappings with other output modalities. This is nevertheless a requirement for successfully implementing a simulation environment. That is, output values of all presented output types need to be highly synchronized to a common geographic reference space, else a simulation experience suffers. Geospatial accuracy (correspondence between a simulator reference space and a real-world reference space) typically decreases as simulation smoothness (synchronization between different output modalities of a simulation environment) increases.
Additionally, a substantial delay currently is incurred between receiving raw geospatially correct information, analyzing this data, converting this data into a simulation acceptable format, and producing a simulation environment based on this data. Appreciably, real world information is dynamic and constantly changing. In tactical situations, information currency can be critical. At the same time, training tactical response personnel before an engagement using an immersive trainer (e.g., a mission rehearsal simulator) can decrease mission mistakes, which directly save lives. Thus, there is currently an unresolved (and some have believed irresolvable) tension between creating a realistic immersive trainer and producing a simulation environment that incorporates current information.